Celtic without key man for Saints match, attacker could be back

Celtic resume their Scottish Premiership campaign on Sunday afternoon, after a disappointing night in the Europa League in midweek when they travel to take on St Johnstone, but they will do so without their captain Scott Brown, according to Sky Sports.

The Bhoys were comprehensively beaten on Thursday night by RB Salzburg, but the clash with the Austrians always had the potential of being a step too far for the Glasgow giants.

They will now be looking to address their relatively poor position in the Scottish top flight, heading into the international break. After the matches played out on Saturday, Brendan Rodgers’ side find themselves in fifth place, which is far too low for a club of their size.

That makes the trip to St Johnstone all the more important, but the Bhoys can take heart from having beaten the same opposition in the Betfred Cup recently.

Celtic won that match 1-0 and Rodgers will be hoping things can be a little more comfortable for his side this time around, however they will go into battle without their captain.

Brown missed the defeat in Austria on Thursday evening and he will be out here too, so he is not going to feature until after the international break at the very least.

While that is clearly going to be a blow for Rodgers, he will be boosted by the return to fitness of playmaker Tom Rogic.

The Australia international has spent a spell on the sidelines but his return will come at a good time. The Celtic boss could also have Filip Benkovic back, with his availability being assessed ahead of the match, after he has made it back from an Achilles injury.

Rodgers will once again have to so without midfielder Nir Bitton, who is out for the long-term, while the match comes too soon once again for Kristoffer Ajer, who is still missing with a hamstring problem.

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